Yeah, I will never acknowledge buses as a good alternative to a subway or even an el train. If you can’t do something good you go with what you have but:
“Crime”: A lot of that is people being generally afraid of black folk and homeless people. If you think the driver is going to do anything because a Poor sat next to you then I got a bridge to sell you. Aside from that, the vast majority of “crime” is resolved by staring out a window or not making eye contact. And the people who ARE going to actually rob you? it is a lot easier to flee onto city streets than into a crowded subway. Watch your shit when the vehicle comes to a stop. And guards/cops tend to hang out at train stations which helps in the event that something does happen.
Going around problems: Yeah. Unless you need to get off on the stop they are now skipping. If you know the area well enough you can adjust. Otherwise you are now very confused that the stop google maps told you to take is not next and you need to figure out if it makes sense to get out at the next stop or two stops from here when you are closer to the original route. Been there, done that, made the wrong judgement call and walked an extra eight blocks in the pouring rain to get to my hotel*. Also, if you are AT the stop they are bypassing because of an accident or whatever… good luck.
Differently abled folk: Any decent subway is handicap accessible. And rolling/crutching/caning onto a subway is a LOT easier than needing to wait for the entire bus to deflate its tires, the driver to help clip you in, the angry passenger being pissed off that they are now behind schedule, etc.
Privacy: You have zero privacy in any situation. You have not LIVED until you have had no choice but to make eye contact with someone defecating on a subway train or having an episode on a bus.
Mechanical Problems: I will definitely give you that.
*: God, this would have been five or six years ago? Was heading out to a European City for a holiday and to visit a few friends. Got more than a bit flabbergasted trying to find the train station at the airport but ended up finding a bus station eventually and just went with it. Got on, knew my route to my hotel, waited. Like two accidents and the bus was shifting between two of the main routes with the driver rambling in the local language and me understanding one word in ten. Eventually just started comparing the GPS coordinates versus the route and saw we were “somewhat still on it” and hopped off and walked eight blocks in the rain. That evening, when my brain was a bit more functional, I figured out which other route we were migrating between and realized the bus would have actually let me out right by the train station outside my hotel. Still grumpy about that one.
Buses aren’t horrible.
I do understand, I was a subway guy for the longest time, my wife would take the bus every day and she converted me.
Yeah, I will never acknowledge buses as a good alternative to a subway or even an el train. If you can’t do something good you go with what you have but:
*: God, this would have been five or six years ago? Was heading out to a European City for a holiday and to visit a few friends. Got more than a bit flabbergasted trying to find the train station at the airport but ended up finding a bus station eventually and just went with it. Got on, knew my route to my hotel, waited. Like two accidents and the bus was shifting between two of the main routes with the driver rambling in the local language and me understanding one word in ten. Eventually just started comparing the GPS coordinates versus the route and saw we were “somewhat still on it” and hopped off and walked eight blocks in the rain. That evening, when my brain was a bit more functional, I figured out which other route we were migrating between and realized the bus would have actually let me out right by the train station outside my hotel. Still grumpy about that one.